Introduction

When I first started going to the dog park, I was warned that it was important to keep an eye on my pup. She would always be surrounded by other dogs, and she might even try to eat a bone or two if no one was looking. But what if there were no bones available? What if Zoey got hungry while she was playing with other dogs? Would she do something drastic? Like maybe she would try to eat another dog’s poop? Well…yes.

A man has to eat.

You may have noticed that your dog is hungry. He or she needs to eat and drink water, just like you do. Your dog also likes to be rewarded for all the hard work he does in training class and playing at the park! You can give your dog treats during exercise time, but it’s important to be careful about what kind of treats you use. Remember: Just because a treat is made with organic ingredients doesn’t mean it’s good for your pup!

Some people think that giving their dogs regular treats like pieces of bread or crackers are okay because they’re human foods and humans eat them too; this is not true! Some human foods can make dogs sick, or even worse—they can kill them! A lot of times when people give their dogs human food (such as cookies) the first thing their dog does after eating them is go poop…and then comes diarrhea…and then vomiting…etc., etc., etc., until eventually their pet dies from kidney failure due to poisoning by chemicals found in some common household products like aspirin!

This dog is literally starving.

You’re at the dog park and you see a dog eating a stick. They are literally starving.

This is the perfect time to explain why this is happening. This dog came from an abusive home where they were starved and had no control over their own food sources, so they will do anything to get their next meal. They will eat sticks, grass, dirt, snow and even food from other dogs if they have to!

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

The first time I brought Zoey to the dog park was great. She was so excited to meet all of the new friends, run around and play with them, and eat treats (especially peanut butter) from other people’s hands. She had an absolute blast!

The second time I brought Zoey to the dog park was not so much fun. She got into a fight with another dog over a tennis ball and got some scratches on her face. At first I thought it wasn’t too bad because they were just scratches but then they started bleeding pretty bad and I had to rush her home before she could get worse injured or infected by bacteria in that dirty environment at that park where there are no employees who clean up after dogs when they go pee outside their designated area..

As she munched away, I felt a pang of guilt for having dropped her off at the dog park on an empty stomach.

There’s a lot of excitement at the dog park, and it can be tempting to leave your pup with their bag of treats and go off to play. But before you do so, keep in mind that they’re probably going to be pretty hungry by the time you get back.

If you don’t have any treats on you when you drop them off, then ask around if anyone else does. Most people are happy to share; plus, it’s good for the community! If that doesn’t work for some reason—or if your dog just doesn’t like treats—you can always leave them with a water bowl (hint: bring one from home).

I told myself that it wouldn’t happen again, and vowed to keep several mini treats in my purse for emergencies.

In the years since my first visit to the park, I’ve learned a few things. For example, it’s important to have treats in your purse. I don’t mean just any kind of treat: they have to be small, healthy, and high-value (that is, something your dog will love).

If you can find these traits in one item—ideally something that can double as an emergency snack for yourself—you should keep a few on hand at all times!

And then it happened.

And then it happened.

The other day, while in the middle of a conversation with my friend about our plans for the weekend, I was interrupted by a voice that would become familiar to me over the weeks to come: “Excuse me! Watch your dog!”

I looked over to see a small elderly woman standing behind us with her hands on her hips and eyes narrowed into tiny slits. She didn’t look happy at all. In fact, she looked like she was ready for a fight if necessary—a stance I am used to seeing when people confront me about my dog’s behavior (or lack thereof). This is just one example of how much more pleasant these interactions are when they’re happening online rather than face-to-face, because there’s no need for eye contact or other social niceties that tend to make interactions awkward even under normal circumstances.

As fate would have it, I ran into the same woman again at the dog park this past weekend.

As fate would have it, I ran into the same woman again at the dog park this past weekend. Of course, she recognized me too and asked if I had any treats for her dogs. This time I was prepared with a bag of leftover truffles from my son’s birthday party (he’s grown up now and no longer celebrates his birthdays with cake or ice cream), but unfortunately, they were all out of date by about three years! Luckily for me and my dog-owning friend, she didn’t mind.

We spent some time chatting about our respective pups before heading off to different parts of the park so we could play separately with our respective pups. She mentioned that she’d seen me over at [another] park where there was an agility course set up specifically for dogs who wanted to try their hand at jumping over hurdles, weaving through poles and climbing over walls—it sounded like fun!

But there was one problem – I had no treats in my purse because Zoey had eaten them all.

The next morning, when I arrived at the park with Zoey and her favorite treat in hand, I was relieved that our ordeal over the previous day had ended. But there was one problem – I had no treats in my purse because Zoey had eaten them all.

I couldn’t show up to playtime empty-handed! In a panic, I immediately asked one of my friends if she had any extra treats that she could spare. She said yes and gave me a few pieces of kibble from her own bag while also telling me that it wasn’t smart to lie to people just so your dog can get fed.

It’s true: we should never let our dogs go hungry! And it’s also true: you should always keep extra treats on hand just in case something happens like what happened to me at the park yesterday… but mostly because Zoey is hungry all the time (and also because she’s just really good at finding food).

So I did what any good human would do – I lied through my teeth and told her that I didn’t have any treats on me whatsoever.

Remember, you never know when you’ll run into that dog owner again. You don’t want to be caught in a lie. It will ruin your reputation as a good human and make other humans think twice before trusting you with their pets—so it’s best to always keep extra treats with you at all times.

Also, the dog park is a great place to meet new people. As I said before, the more friends we have, the better!

Be careful not to make your dog go hungry at the dog park…and always keep extra treats with you!

All dogs are different, but most dogs don’t enjoy a lengthy game of chase without having some type of reward for their efforts. If your dog has a longer energy charge than other dogs, this can be an issue at the dog park.

In order to make sure that your pup doesn’t go hungry during playtime, it’s best to keep some treats in your bag. Make sure you have good ones on hand (like these) because cheap treats may not satisfy their need for something extra special after they’ve had fun playing with other dogs.

This isn’t always something we think about when we head out into the world with our fur babies; however, it’s easy enough to do and will make everyone happy in no time!

Conclusion

Remember, dogs are like children: they need food, water and love. If you want them to be healthy and happy, you have to provide those things – even when it seems inconvenient!